


Choosing to Sink

by LinksLipsSinkShips



Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: Dom!Link, F/M, Infidelity, Light BDSM, M/M, Orgasm Delay/Denial, Protectiveness, Shower Sex, Sub!Rhett, Teasing, Work In Progress, Workplace Sex, wedgie
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-05
Updated: 2017-06-05
Packaged: 2018-11-09 05:31:54
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 7,314
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11097921
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LinksLipsSinkShips/pseuds/LinksLipsSinkShips
Summary: An on-camera wedgie for Internetainment spirals wildly out of control off-screen.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is set immediately after Good Mythical More 1101. It's recommended you watch the GMM and GMMore before reading the story for context if you haven't seen them.

“Rhett, can we, uh… can we talk privately for just a minute?”

Rhett agreed, but he couldn’t help but feel this was a little weird. Sure, there wasn’t anything saying that Rhett couldn’t talk to the Crew, especially Stevie, without Link. But pretty much everything business-related was Rhett+Link. Where was Link anyway? And how did Stevie not realize that now was a bad time, given what had transpired just minutes before?

Stevie closed the door to her office behind her, then asked “Rhett, what the hell was that? You clearly won.”

“I just… I mean, it felt right to take the wedgie, man, I mean, uh. Stevie.” Rhett could feel his face growing red, felt the need to defend his decision, but he really didn’t want to get into this.

“Rhett, you won the challenge. I mean, Link was basically throwing the competition as it is. ‘J’? What even was that? If he lost, why were you so eager to take his place with the jelly donut wedige? I’m sure it wasn’t pleasant…”

No, it definitely wasn’t. That’s why he wasn’t sure why he was having this conversation with Stevie now, instead of after a shower. He could still feel a little bit of the stickiness of the strawberry jelly running down his inner thigh. Link really hadn’t tried at the challenge, that was for sure. But he really seemed to enjoy it. I mean, no one could mistake the fact that the wedgie was a little painful for him, but the way he flaunted himself, hanging from his underwear, pulling up on the bar before the challenge began… there was no doubt Link was pretty into the entire scene. It was the first time they’d done a very obvious BDSM episode, one that couldn’t be brushed off as just all-in-good-fun like the Christmas switching. After all, that one only took up half of a GMMore episode. This was a full-on, red-room-of-pain kind of vibe for GMM, and Link couldn’t have seemed more thrilled.

Rhett was lost in his thoughts, his mind fluttering to the excited smiles and giggles from Link during the game, the way his boyish face lit up every time he anticipated the crank, the way he controlled the room with every letter, right or wrong.

“Rhett, seriously. I just don’t get why you took the punishment.” Stevie wasn’t going to give up easily, obviously, and Rhett was starting to lose his patience.

“Why does it matter so much to you? I just… I had to do it, okay?” Rhett snapped at Stevie in a way he’d never done before, even during late night edits or the inevitable frustrations and growing pains as their business expanded rapidly. “Listen, I’m sorry Stevie, I didn’t mean to snap. It’s just complicated.”

“Well, uncomplicate it for me. Of everyone here in this studio, I deserve to know. Why did you do it, Rhett? Link would have gladly taken on the punishment himself.”

“Because I had to! I’ve never been able to stop it, to keep him safe from it. I should have been able to!” Rhett thought back to the time in high school, the time Link got hazed. Link played it off, even went on to give quite a few kids wedgies himself in the following years, but Rhett always felt like he should have been there to defend Link the way he had in 3rd grade. He even took karate just to make sure no one ever messed with his best friend. And watching him get the wedgie on Good Mythical Morning? He almost came unglued.

“What are you talking about, Rhett? Keep him safe? From what? He was the one who wanted to do a wedgie episode!” Stevie didn’t get it. Rhett wasn’t sure how to make her understand the sense of responsibility he felt to protect Link, to defend him against the wedgies that life was throwing at them. Sure, Link seemed to take some strange sort of pleasure in pain like that, but Rhett just couldn’t bear the thought of it at all.

“I wasn’t there, Stevie. Not when Link needed me the most. I didn’t stop him from getting hazed in high school, I wasn’t even there for him for a whole semester in college! I wasn’t there, and I let things happen to him that never should have… I just couldn’t let him take one more wedgie, not if I could stop it.” Rhett wasn’t sure if he was telling this to Stevie, or if he was just finally confessing to himself how much he’d tortured himself over the years for not being there.

Stevie eyed Rhett, and then sighed heavily.

“You can’t… you can’t always protect him, Rhett.”

“Come on, Stevie. What’s a few jelly donuts up my asscrack, anyway? If you’ll excuse me, I really, really need to shower now. I’d like to get this strawberry jelly taken care of before it dries into place permanently.” Rhett walked to the Mythical Entertainment shower. With all of the weird, gross stuff they were known to do on the show, it made sense to have a shower for easy cleanup, but Rhett often dipped in there to run warm water on his back, or even just take a mental break for a few minutes. This wasn’t about that, though. He had strawberry covering every inch of his nether regions, glaze sticking to places it never should have gone.


	2. Chapter 2

When Rhett opened the door to the shower room, he wasn’t at all surprised to see those soft blue eyes staring at him, waiting.

“What took you so long, man?” Link asked incredulously, wide-eyed behind his thick-framed glasses.

“I just… you know, hard to walk quickly when you’ve got strawberries all over the place.”

Link nodded slowly, then opened his mouth to speak, but shut it again.

“I uh… I just thought maybe I’d shower and get some of this off of me.” Rhett glanced down towards his shorts, fearing they might be stuck on now.

“No way, buddyroll. After what you did back there, I think you’re in for a little bit of pleasure to reward your pain, don’t you?” Rhett could feel Link’s gaze up and down his body, and he took long strides to close the distance between them after locking the door behind him. Link began to peel Rhett’s clothing off, starting with the shirt and working his way down.

“I want to see what the damage is after that little punishment back there.” This was a relatively recent thing, Link being so in charge, so in control of the situation. It was something they discussed before the Christmas switching, but one that had developed a lot more as Rhett found out how much Link enjoyed calling the shots. Rhett knew Link was always a little bossy, a little controlling (especially when it came to details), a little bit more take-charge, but the delight he took in Rhett’s switching proved how much he really was the one leading the way behind the scenes, too.

Link placed a hand on each of Rhett’s hips, turning him side to side, taking a peek at the strawberry jam and glaze caked all over him. He got that little topsy-turvy grin, looked up at Rhett, and planted a sharp bite right on his left cheek, tasting the strawberries and glaze right off of Rhett’s firm butt. Rhett let out a little yelp, but the surprising pain quickly subsided as Link trailed kisses along Rhett’s hip bones, kneeling in front of him.

If this was the sort of reward he was going to get for stuffing jelly donuts in his underwear, they should invest in more donuts, Rhett thought, letting out a deep moan as Link took him into his mouth. He closed his eyes, feeling like his whole body might just float away if he didn’t grab onto something. He felt his fingers running through Link’s hair, resting on his shoulders, pulling his head towards his nether regions, as they had so carefully referred to it on the show, somehow trying to maintain their mostly family-friendly appearance. “Gosh, Link, I’m… don’t stop, please,” Link got him so very close to the edge, he didn’t think he could contain himself. He could feel twitching in his thighs, feel his body clench and unclench with each movement of the brunette’s mouth against him. Just as he thought he couldn’t hold on anymore, Link backed off, and Rhett looked down. “Wait, I’m so close.” He whimpered a little bit, but Link had no intention of changing his stance.

Link had recently discovered something new online, a new form of control. He loved knowing that if he could get Rhett to the edge, then stop, the end result would be so much more powerful when he’d let Rhett finish. Link loved when his games could make things feel even better for Rhett.

“Come on, let’s get you cleaned up, Rhett. You’re still all sticky.” Link slapped Rhett’s ass, then chuckled. “Yup, very, very smackable.” He turned the water on, then nudged Rhett towards the shower.

In the shower, Rhett pulled Link close to him, careful not to overstep his role, but also making sure that Link knew how much he cared for him. Link planted his lips on Rhett’s, running his tongue along Rhett’s lips, then carefully pushing his body and mouth deeper against Rhett.

Rhett wondered how he’d gotten so lucky… a best friend, willing to follow him across the country to start a media empire, a partner, and now so much more than that. Link trailed his fingers along Rhett’s body as Rhett began the process of scrubbing off all of the donut remnants. As he turned off the hot water, Link suggested “How about we finish what we started back in our office?”


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning, Stevie pulled Rhett aside again. Rhett wasn’t sure he wanted to make this a habit, especially since she seemed like she still wasn’t dropping their conversation yesterday.

“I know you’re not being fully honest with me. If you can’t be fully honest with your executive producer, should I really even feel secure here at Mythical Entertainment?” Just as Rhett feared, Stevie definitely wasn’t over what happened yesterday. If he had known what kind of issues it would cause with her, he wouldn’t have taken Link’s punishment. Then again, the reward for taking the punishment was pretty spectacular, especially after they had gone back to their office following the steamy shower together. Maybe it was worth it.

“Of course you should feel secure here, Stevie. I told you what was up with it yesterday. I felt bad that Link lost, I took the punishment, and we should just move on from it. The episode’s done, and I don’t have any lasting jelly donut damage going on.” Rhett felt himself blushing as he defended his actions. He wasn’t being dishonest. One of his biggest regrets really was not being there that day on the cross country track, elbow ready to defend against the seniors set on hazing freshman. Even if Link had somehow felt super moved by this event in his life, Rhett wasn’t thrilled that he had to face it alone.

“Rhett, listen. I know there’s more going on than you’re willing to tell me, and I don’t need details, but you do need to know that you’re going to have to be more careful.” Her hushed tone didn’t cover the importance of the conversation, the fierce look in her eyes. “The Crew, they’re starting to talk.”

“Talk about what, Stevie?”

“I mean, the innuendo and touching on the show, the looks you give Link during the episodes, at first, we all just chalked up to something that was good for views, and assumed that was what it was all about. It was easy to dismiss some of your pitches as good for business, but the more you guys pushed it, the less it felt like business.”

“Stevie, you, me, Link, we’ve already talked about how the views go up whenever we’re touching; you know how pretty much everyone on Tumblr loves to watch those parts again and again, and that’s just good for business.”

Stevie wasn’t buying it, not at all. The views were better there, sure, but it was more, and they both knew it.

“Rhett, my office isn’t that far from yours. I know you guys try to be quiet, but you really aren’t. I know what’s happening in there, even with the door closed. Right now, I’m doing okay damage control, sending the crew out on other projects. If I know you two are needing some alone time after an episode, I’m making sure we’ve got other things planned. Heck, I sent Mike and Alex to Walmart the other day just to be sure that they were out of the building. But the more frequent this becomes, the harder my job is here.”

“Wait, you can hear us?” The blood drained from Rhett’s face as he realized the full impact of what Stevie was trying to get through to him yesterday. She was trying to open the door to talking to him about this, and he ended up giving her way more information than she needed, opening up a whole new emotional level that he desperately wished he would have been able to keep private after all.

Stevie nodded quietly, then said “I wanted to talk to you about it because I know you’re the one who is going to take it harder. I know you’re not as… open about things as Link is, and I wanted you to have a heads up, just between us. But I really, really need you guys to make my job easier. Help me help you.” Rhett felt flustered. He truly thought they’d been careful, quiet, that they weren’t arousing any suspicion during their “brainstorming” sessions that were far, far more intense than new episode ideas.

Rhett didn’t even know how to respond, but he did know he could feel his entire body tingling, and not necessarily in a good way.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Suggested listening: The Good In Me by Jon Bellion

“Link, dammit, Stevie knows. She fucking knows, man.” Rhett paced their shared office back and forth, tugging at his hair, almost growling in frustration and… anger? Anger didn’t really describe what he felt, but neither did embarrassment. Rhett didn’t know how to feel. He didn’t like the idea of anyone knowing what was happening between them, but at the same time, what did he think was going to happen when they started having sex at work, anyway? How could he have been so stupid?

“I know.”

“What?!” Rhett demanded, actually angry this time as he looked at Link.

“I know she knows.” Link said it again, a smug grin on his face. “Of course she knows. Our offices are close enough for her to hear what happens in here, Rhett. You didn’t think this was really that private, did you?”

Rhett’s eyes flashed angrily, and Link knew he should probably step back. “Listen, baby, I’m sorry. I wasn’t intentionally trying to make it so she’d hear us or anything. I just… if anyone was going to find out about it, you know it was going to be her.” Link stepped closer to Rhett, reaching out his hand, but Rhett ignored it.

“Don’t call me baby. Not right now. Not with all of this happening.”

“What do you want to do, Rhett? You’re not seriously considering ending this, are you?”

Rhett didn’t know what he wanted. Ending it would be easier. They’d just stop, go back to how they were before, take the pressure off of Stevie to keep their secret a secret. But could Rhett really resist Link, really sit that close to him every day, knowing what they’d done and what they wouldn’t be doing anymore? He wasn’t sure he had that in him, honestly. He wanted it too bady, wanted Link too badly.

“I don’t know, Link. Maybe we could be quieter. Maybe we could end it. Maybe we could just make this a sometimes thing, like a camping trip or hiking kind of deal, not an office kind of deal…” Rhett sat down on the couch, lowering his head between his own knees and let out a half groan, half yell. All he had wanted from the beginning was to protect Link, but as they got closer, things changed and roles changed and now they were in this mess. For some reason, Link didn’t seem to mind, but it was eating away at Rhett.

Link sat down next to Rhett, wrapping his arm around his friend’s shoulder. Publicly, everyone would always assume Rhett was the one in control, probably because he was so much taller, looked so much more masculine with that beard and those eyes. Link was bouncing, energetic, “the boy” in their businessman-and-boy persona. In interviews, pictures, you’d so often see Rhett’s arm around Link, protective, like he called the shots and Link went along with it. For so much of their relationship, their friendship, it had been that way, Rhett deciding, Link following.

Link’s mom would have been fine with them going to film school, but since Rhett’s dad wasn’t, they both packed up and became engineers instead. Link had always followed Rhett’s lead. So when Rhett initiated a kiss on Good Mythical Morning, albeit through plexiglass, it made sense for Link to follow along.

Behind closed doors, though, it was another story. After the plexiglass kiss, Link took time to gain some perspective about the noticeable shift that had been occurring in their relationship over the past few months, far before the kiss. As soon as Rhett learned that the way to make Link feel good, feel loved, was through words of affirmation, he really ramped those up. He tried to work a compliment into conversation any way that he could. Link couldn’t help but notice how much Rhett had taken his love language to heart, and he didn’t stop with the kind words. He made a focused effort to spend more time with Link, pushing Link to go paddle boarding or hiking with him as often as possible.

Link couldn’t help but feel affection for Rhett, and the plexiglass kiss just amplified it. It didn’t take long, a couple of weeks maybe, for Link to start looking for a way to open the door to kissing Rhett, for real this time.

Link found himself thinking about the plexiglass kiss constantly, dreaming about it, so one day, just before the end of the day, he stood up, walked over, and locked the door silently. Rhett stammered “what… what are you doing, man?” But Link walked over to him, mustering every ounce of courage that he possibly could.

“Rhett, we have to talk about that kiss.” Link remembered their conversation about the kiss like it was yesterday, pondered over everything that happened after he said those words, the ones that shifted them from friends to so much more.

“What’s there to talk about? It was just some sketch.”

“Come on, bo, that was all unscripted, made up right there. No one told us we had to kiss, it wasn’t in some script, you just pulled that kiss out of your ass!” Link wasn’t letting Rhett off the hook on this one.

“You know it was going to make the whole scene better, that it made sense for us to kiss through the glass.”

Link started to waver. Did his friend truly only initiate the kiss to improve the scene? Really? Without any warning, he just went for it, and Link was so sure it was more than just basic improv. “Prove it.”

“What?”

“Prove it to me, that it was just for the scene.”

“How exactly do you want me to prove it, Link? I already told you, I thought it would make things funnier.”

Link fumed, frustrated, incredulous. He took a step forward, and he wasn’t really sure what he planned to do next. He kind of wanted to punch Rhett. He kind of wanted to make out with him. He stood on his toes, pulled Rhett towards him, and planted a kiss right on Rhett’s lips.

To his surprise, Rhett didn’t move away. Instead, he pushed into the kiss, his arms wrapping around Link’s waist, pulling him closer, hungry for their lips to touch. Their tongues explored each other’s lips, mouths, their hands moving, exploring, entwining. Link started to lose his balance, pulling away.

“I told you it wasn’t for the stupid scene,” Link grinned.

Rhett blushed, knowing his friend had caught the full truth. He had been so desperate to kiss Link and the newsical seemed like the perfect opportunity. Now that they had kissed, there wasn’t any way of going back, not fully. So as things progressed between them, it seemed only natural they’d try to keep it as quiet as they could. After all, this was just a little work secret, right?

But now that Stevie knew, now that she was so certain the Crew was starting to take note, too, they had to figure out where they were going from here, and that’s where things got so complicated. Thrust back into reality, Link leaned into Rhett, rubbing his lower back gently. “It’s going to be okay. We’ll figure something out.”


	5. Chapter 5

Rhett was pacing the office again when Stevie knocked on the door.

“Come in,” Rhett said, and Stevie walked in inquisitively. When their door was closed, it was usually a sign not to interrupt, but Stevie hadn’t heard any sign of their passion for a few days, and she wanted to check in.

“Guys, I’ve got something to talk to you about, is it a good time?” When Rhett nodded, Stevie positioned herself on the couch with a few pieces of paper.

“We’re getting some comments. People are noticing that there’s a lot of tension between you two, that you’re bordering on snippy during the show. I just want to make sure that everything is okay, because the Mythical Beasts are really starting to show some concern, and it’s having an impact on our numbers.”

Link grunted, glaring over at Rhett. Rhett stared straight ahead, pretending not to feel his friend, his lover’s eyes burning into him.

“We’re fine. It’s just… it’s been an off week. That’s all. It’s fine.” Rhett answered for the pair.

“It’s not fine, Rhett. It’s clearly not fine. You’ve been pissed ever since you found out Stevie knew there was something up between us.” Link was right. Rhett had been tense, not himself at all, since they sat together on the couch a couple of days ago, failing to come to any good conclusions on how to move forward.

“Fuck, I mean, uh… crap, I’m sorry guys. I really didn’t mean to cause any problems between you two.” Stevie looked at her feet, kicking her shoes on the floor a bit. “Is there anything I can do?”

Rhett felt tears welling up in his eyes. He didn’t want Stevie to feel bad for confronting him about knowing what they were doing. He didn’t want to feel the guilt he obviously felt for what they were doing anyway. He didn’t want to want it so badly, to want Link by his side, to need Link’s touch. But he did. Lord knows, he did… so much. Link noticed the tears starting to drip down Rhett’s face and stood up.

“Stevie, can you give us a few minutes?” Link closed the door behind Stevie, then locked it. He walked over to Rhett and knelt in front of him, the direct opposite of their scene from BFFs, a scene that felt like it had happened an eternity ago.

Link cupped his friend’s beard in his hand, lifting his face to look him in the eye.

“Rhett, baby, please. We have to talk about this.”

“Don’t… please don’t call me baby. Not now.”

“Is this all over, Rhett?”

“No… yes… I don’t know. I don’t know, man. I don’t want it to be. But if Stevie knows, if the Crew is starting to realize it, how much longer can we realistically keep this a secret from everyone, from our wives and kids and the Mythical Beasts and our families back home?”

Rhett broke down in sobs now, burying his head into Link’s neck. Link rubbed his upper back, the back of his neck, ran his fingers through Rhett’s hair.

“Rhett, I don’t want this to be a secret anymore. Not from Stevie, even though she already knows. Not from the Crew, or from our families, or from the Mythical Beasts. This has never been just a fling for me, just sex, or a way to let out the other side of me.”

“Then what is it, Link?” Rhett sniffed, waiting for Link’s answer.

“I love you, baby. I love you so much more than you realize.” Link pressed his lips against Rhett’s, wondering if this kiss was a goodbye, or the start of a whole new step in their relationship together.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Suggested Listening: Woke the F*ck Up by Jon Bellion

Rhett sat upright, sweat pouring off of him. His breathing was fast, shallow, like he was gasping for air. His skin felt too tight on his bones, his body throbbed and itched and squirmed and ached. Something was wrong. Something was very, very wrong.

He stood up from his bed, wandering towards the window. He opened it slightly, hoping for a cool breeze just to help him catch his breath, but the thick, warm LA air sputtered back at him, and he closed it again.

Jessie murmured, rolling over in her sleep, and Rhett sighed. He should go back to bed, lay down next to his wife, but he knew that it wouldn’t make the deep ache in his stomach go away. There was only one thing… one person… that could fill the need he had. And he had pushed all of that away.

Rhett ran his fingers along his palm, touching the place that so many years ago, a sharp rock, piece of glass, whatever it was, carved through his hand. It was the Oath that would shape their futures, and Rhett ran away from all of it as he walked out of the room after Link confessed that it was his love, not his lust, that was the driving force in their switch from friends to more than friends.

He had been at such a loss when it came to Link’s confession, it changed so much about what he thought Link actually wanted from things. He was scared, and he left. It was supposed to be easier for him to process these things alone. He always knew, as an introvert, he’d make a good hermit, just… setting out on his own, without any issue. Until he actually tried to process this by himself, he thought that solitude would make things easier. But processing it himself, right after he left, and now again in the dark, quiet house where his family slept, seemed so impossible to sort through.

Halfway across town, Link pressed his thumb into his palm. He remembered dragging that rock across his hand, how funny it was that, as queasy as he gets around blood, it didn’t seem to make the idea of a blood oath impossible. It was just one of those things he needed to do, and he did it. And gosh, he had held onto that paper for so long. It was so important to him, what he and Rhett wanted to build, ended up building.

This was the first time they’d taken a break from new GMM episodes without giving the Mythical Beasts much warning at all. Usually, they’d give at least a few episodes of notice that the break was coming, but when Rhett walked out, that seemed impossible. A few short texts were all they had really exchanged since, and that made filming a show together something that just wasn’t happening.

Link picked up his phone and checked the comments section of the video they posted announcing the break. It was a supercut of some of the best moments from the past few seasons, the touchy-feely ones especially. Link had put in a lot of time and energy to make it absolutely perfect, editing it himself just to be sure. In a way, it was like he wasn’t making it for the Mythical Beasts. He was making it because he had hoped Rhett would see it and remember all of the reasons they worked so well together.

“Guys, this is the end of GMM, isn’t it?”  
“Wow, a sudden break after how you guys have been acting the past few episodes? Shocker…”  
“Hopefully things get better soon! When are you coming back?”

The Mythical Beasts sensed the tension, like Stevie had said, and were now starting to take this break as a breakup. Link felt his eyes well up with tears, but he tried pushing them back down as soon as he felt them. Was it over? Was it the end?

His phone buzzed, startling him so much that he nearly dropped it.

“I can’t sleep. Can we talk?”

Link’s mouth gaped open a bit. Rhett was the last person he expected to hear from, honestly.

“Yeah. Meet me at the studio,” Link texted back hastily.

If they were there, they could air everything out, talk about everything, and figure out where to go next. Link’s fingers trembled as he wrote a note to leave on the counter. “Had to go to the office. I’ll text you.”

He didn’t know if Rhett’s need to talk meant the end of Mythical Entertainment, or if he was actually missing Link the way Link was missing him. Either way, waiting to have the conversation wasn’t going to do either of them any favors. Link hadn’t slept well since Rhett left, and if Rhett wasn’t sleeping now, Link assumed they were probably both struggling with… whatever the future held, anyway.

As Link pulled into the parking lot, he saw the headlights of Rhett’s car pull in, too. He took a deep breath, then opened the car door. He didn’t know whether to go on inside or wait for Rhett, so he just lingered, his hand a few inches from the doorknob. As he felt Rhett approach, he turned the handle, holding the door open for his… for his what? Business partner? Friend? Lover? All of the above? None of it? He didn’t know.

The door closed behind them and it was then that he heard the audible gasping sound Rhett was making. He went to turn on the light, but Rhett’s hand stopped him from reaching the switch.

“No. I don’t want you to see me like this right now. Just… give me a few minutes before we turn the lights on. Please.”

Link knew Rhett was the sensitive one when it came to things. People wouldn’t think that on the surface, but just take Rhett to the movies and he’d cry during half the scenes, even at a kids’ movie. Link didn’t know if Rhett wanted him to comfort him or not, so he just stood there, close to Rhett, listening, waiting.

Rhett continued to choke on his tears and for awhile, it felt like instead of him composing himself, he was just getting himself more worked up, more upset. Link reached out towards his friend. “Oh, Rhett. Please... “ Link trailed off, unsure of where he was going with that sentence, but he didn’t remove his hand from Rhett’s chest where it had landed when he had reached forward in the darkness.

Rhett’s hand suddenly covered Link’s hand on his chest, holding it in place, so even if Link had wanted to remove it, now he couldn’t. That was okay. It was okay. They stood there, in the darkness, just a little bit longer.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Suggested Listening: Guillotine by Jon Bellion

“Let’s go up to our office.” Rhett made the suggestion, his voice calmer after crying and clinging to Link’s hand for several quiet minutes.

Link followed Rhett, like he had done so many times before, trying to shove down his thoughts that this time was obviously very different. Rhett flicked on the light, and it was then that Link caught a glimpse of how red his eyes were from the tears, how puffy his face seemed from the crying. Link just wanted to hold him, to make him feel better. “Oh, gosh.”

Rhett was silent for a few moments, and so was Link. Neither of them was really certain what the other wanted to say, but neither of them was willing to start the conversation, either. As Rhett took a seat, Link followed suit. “Link…” Rhett trailed off.

“I… I couldn’t stop thinking about how I walked away. How that wasn’t fair to you, how I just left things. I kept replaying it in my head and realized I hadn’t really let you in, let you know how I was feeling. I got scared, and I left, and I’m sorry. I still don’t know what I’m thinking or feeling, and that really scares me.”

Link raised his eyebrows a little bit, not sure where Rhett was going with this. He moved his hand along the couch, into the empty space between them. He didn’t want to reach for Rhett, touch him, risk pushing him away. But he couldn’t leave that much space between them for the words to just hang there.

“Rhett, you don’t have to know what you’re thinking or feeling. Just talk to me. Where’s your head at, man?”

“I don’t know. I know that when you said you loved me, it scared me. I know that if you ever stop loving me, we won’t be able to work together anymore, and that scares me, too. I know that the idea of telling our families what’s been happening is horrifying, but if we kept going, doing what we were doing, we’d have to tell them. And I didn’t know if I could handle that, Link. I still don’t know if I can handle that.”

Link still didn’t know what to say. Was Rhett saying that he wanted to work together? That he didn’t? He was so hard to read right now.

“Link, before I met you, and I know I’ve told you this… I’ve told everyone this… I felt like something was missing. And then I met you. I was whole. Before I’d just been this empty shell, this portion of something, and then I moved to North Carolina, and I met you, and everything changed. I thought that finding you and you filling that space as my other half of some big whole was just because we were such good friends. I would have done anything to keep you safe. You know that. I mean, I jumped into the Cape Fear River after you in February, of all things. You have to know how much I cared about you to make that choice.”

The words hit Link hard. Cared? Past tense? He swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing and choking back the tears that threatened to rise.

“Then, when we started Mythical Entertainment, it seemed like we could do anything, be anything, make anything of ourselves. And I couldn’t ever forget the sacrifices our wives made to come here, to move to LA and make our dreams a reality. They gave up so much to make our dreams of being Internetainers come true. But Link, as much as I felt like you made me a whole person when I met you, I still felt like there’s been something missing.”

He paused, taking a moment to compose himself before continuing.

“Link, I can’t imagine life without Mythical Entertainment, without Good Mythical Morning and everything else we’ve worked so hard to build together. But I would give every single part of that up, every bit if it meant that I could be with you. The only thing I’m more afraid of than losing you is losing the kids. And if our wives find out about all of this, what’s stopping them from moving the kids back to North Carolina?” He choked on the words he was saying.

“Oh, Rhett, oh baby…” Link wrapped his arms around Rhett, pulling him closely, as Rhett cried into Link’s neck. This was becoming a habit, it seemed, but Link was all too willing to comfort him in this hurricane that was their lives.

Rhett pulled back after a few minutes, looking into Link’s blue eyes. Link couldn’t promise him what he needed to hear, that his wife wouldn’t take his kids away if he decided to tell the entire truth. But at the same time, he couldn’t keep living the lie he had been, and maybe if they could do some damage control, maybe their wives would understand. That is, if Link even wanted to tell Christie at all. Maybe he wanted to keep things secret. For once, Rhett didn’t really know what Link wanted to do. After over 30 years together, it felt weird not having some idea of what his best friend, his soul mate in so many senses of the words, was thinking.

It seems like they spent forever just looking at each other, forever waiting for the other one to speak.

Finally, Link broke the silence.

“Rhett, what happens if we don’t tell anyone? Stevie already knows. The Crew already sort of knows. But what I know is that life isn’t really much of a life if you’re not in it, and I’m not sure we can go back to how we were before, so for me, it feels like the only option is to push forward and pray we can figure out how to convince the world that we didn’t do this to hurt anyone. But I don’t want to live without you.”

Rhett took his time responding, a low sigh coming from his throat. He didn’t have words, but his sudden realization was that he didn’t need words right now. He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his best friend’s lips. They paused, frozen in time for just a breath too long, then deepened their kiss, hands ruffling through each others’ hair, along each others’ skin. Rhett felt his hands toying with the bottom of Link’s tee shirt, then felt his arms instinctively pulling it over Link’s head. Link let the shirt fall to the floor, then his fingers made quick work of the button down that Rhett wore. They kept kissing as Link removed Rhett’s shirt, and Link gently laid Rhett backward as he curled against his body, feeling the waves of Rhett’s fear, love, anxiety, lust creep over him. Link planted tender kisses along Rhett’s collarbones as Rhett ran his fingers down his best friend’s slender, but muscular, back. “Fuck, Link. I am in love with you, aren’t I?”

Rhett knew that no amount of fear, shame, guilt, worry could keep him apart from Link. They were a unit, a whole, two parts of the same being. Like Aristotle said, they were a single soul dwelling in two bodies. There was no way to tear that apart, and Rhett wasn’t even going to try.

As the two men pressed their bodies together, they curled into each other, fitting so perfectly together on the couch. Rhett’s fingers toyed with the brunette hair from Link’s head on his chest, and after awhile, the two, who had been sleepless for days, drifted off together.

The next morning, they awoke to a startled gasp.

“Oh, oh gosh, I’m so sorry. I’m sorry. I just came in to grab something for a video, and…” Chase stuttered. It was pretty common for them to run in and grab something really quickly when they knew for sure their bosses wouldn’t be there. Why knock if the room was certain to be empty?

“Fuck, Chase… fuck. Just… wait a second.” Rhett and Link sat upright, and Rhett peeled himself off of the couch to sprint after Chase.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Suggested Listening: Weight of the World by Jon Bellion

“Chase,” Rhett said, grasping Chase’s wrist, “Please. It isn’t what it looks like. We were… fuck, I mean, just…”

“It’s exactly what it looks like, Chase.” Link had caught up quickly, despite his strides being shorter. Rhett never understood how Link could move so fast. “But just because it was what it looks like, doesn’t mean we’re okay with you telling anyone else about this.”

Rhett felt the color drain from his face. Link had just confirmed something that Rhett wasn’t sure he was ready to confirm. I mean, their families. Their careers. What the hell, Link? Rhett thought to himself.

“It’s none of my business,” Chase defensively raised his hands in front of himself. “I mean, what you guys do is your business. I’m not going to tell the rest of the Crew. I respect you guys a lot, though, and I think most of us at least kind of think there’s something between you two anyway. It doesn’t change anything for me.”

So Chase knew, too? How the hell did everyone know? Rhett and Link clearly weren’t being as secretive about things as Rhett thought they’d been, not as quiet or careful. He wondered how everyone seemed to know this thing about them when Rhett had tried so hard to even really let himself think about it outside of the moments he had alone with Link.

“How did you… like, what gave it away for you, Chase?” Rhett was puzzled.

“You guys have known each other literally longer than you’ve known anyone but family, but you don’t act like brothers so much as something pretty obviously more. You’re just a pair. I don’t think anything has to be going on for people to just assume you two are pretty much soul mates. It’s not like it’s a big leap from there when we see you guys looking at each other or talking about each other.”

So Chase hadn’t heard them together, and Stevie had clearly been doing a good job keeping everyone away if they really had been that obvious during their little “office sessions.” But it still didn’t help. He knew. If Stevie knew, and Chase knew, they were running out of ways to keep this a secret. Was it really even a secret at all? Maybe, maybe their wives still didn’t know.  
“Soul mates?” Chase had used a pretty intense word to describe them, but it didn’t feel unnatural for Rhett to think of he and Link as soul mates. I mean, what other word would you use to describe what they had, even before things got hotter between them?

“Yeah,” Chase said. “Soul mates. You two belong together. As business partners, as best friends, you’re the perfect fit. You’re the kind of friendship that everyone dreams of having. You guys just make sense together. It’s like #relationshipgoals in real life. If I looked at my girlfriend the way you guys look at each other, I’d probably get laid a lot more.” Chase chuckled a little bit at his last statement, and so did Link.

“It’s amazing how far those eyes get you, Chase. Gotta step up your game, man.” Link looked over at his business partner, his lover, to see if he had crossed a line by laughing.

Rhett smiled, then patted Chase on the shoulder. “So you’re going to keep this quiet, right? At least… until we’re ready to open up about it?”

Link choked on his own saliva, his eyes almost popping out of his haid. Did he just hear Rhett correctly? Until we’re ready to open up about it? The words made Link’s stomach flutter. He had hope. This wasn’t going to be a secret much longer, was it? Relief washed over him.

“I’ve got your back, boss. I’m going to head home, okay?”

As Chase walked away, Link entwined his fingers with Rhett’s. They were going to be unstoppable, and Link felt light and free.


End file.
